Resolutely Yours
by Stephane Richer
Summary: He knows he's easily mollified, but it's really hard not to be when Kuroko places his hand on top of Izuki's and looks at him, lips faintly turning up at the corners—that smile's all for him.


Resolutely Yours

Disclaimer: Don't own.

* * *

Walking Nigou isn't really what Izuki would suggest as a date, especially because it's so early in the morning and they haven't had one in a while. Nevertheless, Kuroko calls him and he answers because 5 AM or no, he does want to see him.

They live fairly close to each other, so Kuroko suggests that he'll pick Izuki up, something that Izuki can only mumble an agreement to and barely register in his brain (he's still half asleep).

Izuki barely has time to get dressed and get downstairs, grabbing his school bag and hoping he's not forgetting anything and hastily scribbling a note to his parents. He opens the door and looks around, and there's what looks like a short person walking a dog. As they approach, Izuki tries to rub the bleariness and blur from his eyes, and yup, it's Kuroko and Nigou.

Kuroko greets him with a quick kiss to his lips. It's like a shot of straight adrenaline to Izuki; already he feels more attuned to the air around him. Kuroko blinks up at him after pulling away, as placid as ever. "Good morning, Izuki-kun. Your shirt is buttoned wrong."

Izuki looks down. In his haste to get ready and his general lack of awareness in the early hours, he had indeed buttoned every button but the top two in the buttonhole below the correct one. He's about to start redoing it, when Kuroko hands him Nigou's leash. Izuki takes it without thinking, and then Kuroko's hands are on his shirt.

Kuroko untucks it and starts unbuttoning each button methodically, hands grazing against Izuki's stomach. Izuki tenses up, suddenly _very_ awake and alert. His hands are shaking, and he feels pressure on his ankle. He looks down, deliberately avoiding looking at Kuroko's hands. Nigou is butting his head against Izuki's ankle, probably bothered by how Izuki is shaking his leash. Izuki tries to steady his hands, but even though he's trying to control his body and looking at Nigou, he can't distract himself from Kuroko's touch. Even the way the fabric is moving against his skin is making him more than a bit uncomfortable. After what seems like an eternity of Izuki trying desperately not to make things awkward, Kuroko takes his hands away and Izuki exhales.

"Izuki-kun, I think you should tuck in your shirt," Kuroko says, tugging on the leash in his hand.

Kuroko seemed to have no problem un-tucking it, but Izuki's almost a little bit glad that he won't put it back. He's already pretty overwhelmed, and the lower Kuroko's hands strayed on his abdomen the more sensitive his skin was (of course, that's par for the course and Kuroko knows that by now, although how deliberate he was being is up for debate); so that could only cause more problems that would be unwelcome at this time of day, particularly when they're out on the street. Izuki busies himself with his shirt and Kuroko bends down to ruffle Nigou's fur.

It's easy to look into Kuroko's eyes when he's done, and it's easy to take his hand now that they've had far more intimate contact. It's nice, being up in the grey morning-it's still cool but they leave their jackets unbuttoned. There's almost no one out on the street, a few joggers and fellow dog-walkers, but they pay Izuki and Kuroko no mind.

Nigou stops to piss on a fire hydrant, and Izuki takes that moment to give Kuroko a return kiss, deep and hungry. Kuroko breaks the connection too soon, placing a hand on Izuki's chest.

"It's too early."

"No, Kuroko! I'm in mourning that you aren't going to be affectionate in the morning."

Kuroko picks up Nigou and starts to walk away in disgust.

* * *

Going to Kuroko's house isn't as exciting as Izuki thought it would be—his parents have already left for work and he doesn't really let Izuki go in, just drops Nigou off and puts more food in his bowl, never letting Izuki so much as peer past the foyer and the kitchen. Izuki whines to Kuroko about it, but Kuroko pointedly changes the subject. Secretly, though, Izuki is kind of pleased. Even though he hasn't met Kuroko's parents or seen much of the apartment itself, he's actually been to Kuroko's house—as far as he knows, he's the first one of anyone on the team. Even though he knows that he and Kuroko are dating and so that must mean he's something special (he feels very, very special indeed when Kuroko sighs his name and flushes and clutches onto him, but that's another matter altogether)—he feels hopelessly inadequate.

As if sensing his feelings, Kuroko squeezes his hand. He doesn't say anything; the gesture itself is just a reminder that he's not going to put up with Izuki's self-deprecating shit if he starts saying something about it.

It's so damn hard sometimes, though, to be with someone so stoic and guarded, someone who despite the time Izuki's known him periodically shakes him to the core with his bluntness—even though he doesn't show it outwardly very often, his feelings are present (it seems almost mocking sometimes, though, the placid look on his face as he tells Izuki what's on his mind).

It's so damn frustrating, too, that Hyuuga was the one to (inadvertently) make Kuroko laugh first and that Kagami spends so much more time with Kuroko, not only time with the classroom but outside it—they're practically inseparable sometimes, and Izuki has a hard time not thinking he's intruding on their friendship, something that's way deeper than the bond he shares with Kuroko. Still, jealousy is no good, no good at all. It just won't do, so Izuki resolves to put it out of his mind.

It helps a great deal that they're able to steal some time later that day during lunch, finding some deserted closet (it's no big deal for two of them to come out at once because no one can see Kuroko anyway) to make out in. Kuroko drums his fingertips against Izuki's protruding hip bone and runs his hands up and down Izuki's sides and Izuki gropes Kuroko's ass through his pants and undoes the top button of his shirt and bites him on the chest (he never bites hard enough for the marks to even last until practice, even though it's not a huge deal since the whole team knows—but they'd probably, Hyuuga especially, get all flustered and yell at Izuki. Or maybe they wouldn't pay attention to Kuroko in the first place…but Izuki's overthinking things, isn't he?) and kisses up and down Kuroko's jaw. And then the bell rings and they have to get to class and damn it, damn it, damn it.

* * *

The next day, Izuki has to go looking for Kuroko during lunch. Texting him won't do any good because he usually doesn't keep his phone on in school. A glance of the cafeteria (Izuki has never been so glad for his eagle's eye before, because looking through this manually would be exhausting and inconclusive) reveals that Kuroko's not there, so Izuki heads toward the first-year classrooms.

Kuroko's not in the classroom, either, but Kagami is, munching on his lunch and staring out the window.

"Hey, Kagami! Has the wind tilted your face to look out the window?"

Kagami rolls his eyes. "What do you want?"

Izuki will spare him the lecture on respecting his elders (that's Hyuuga's shtick, after all—and he's more miffed that Kagami didn't get his pun than anything else) and besides lunch is so short and time ticks on. "Do you know where Kuroko went?"

Kagami shrugs. "He was here in class, but I think he went somewhere. Dunno."

Silence. Izuki's not really sure what to do, so he flops down at the empty seat in front of Kagami and picks up the basketball magazine on the edge of Kagami's desk. It's in English and he has to struggle to understand it. He recognizes the names of all the players, though, so that's a start. He clumsily makes his way through a few paragraphs and is about to give up and just join Kagami in staring out the window when Kagami speaks.

"Are you just going to stay and read my magazine?"

Izuki tosses the magazine back on the desk. "I'm staying until he gets back."

"You're going to see him in practice."

Izuki sighs. "I want to see him now."

"Man," Kagami says. "You two are just so…I mean, he just never shuts up about you—"

"Please don't spread lies, Kagami-kun." Kuroko has finally appeared, having entered the classroom a few seconds earlier. "Izuki-kun will get a swelled head."

"But that's because I'm a swell guy, right?" Izuki's bright smile, this time, is not due to happiness at his own self-proclaimed cleverness with words. He knows he's easily mollified, but it's really hard not to be when Kuroko places his hand on top of Izuki's and looks at him, lips faintly turning up at the corners—that smile's all for him. He's greedy; he wants it all, wants all of Kuroko's smiles for himself.


End file.
